Spoilage during storage is a concern when moisture levels are high. If storage temperatures are below about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, you can usually keep soybeans at 13 percent moisture for about 6 months without mold problems.

As moisture levels increase, however, the length of time soybeans can safely be stored decreases.

Storage time guidelines

As a general guideline, soybeans in storage tend to act about the same as corn with 2 percent more moisture content. For example, you can expect soybeans at 16 percent moisture to act like corn at 18 percent moisture.

We developed the following table for corn, so to adjust for soybeans, simply look at the column with a moisture content 2 percentage points greater than the soybeans in question.

For example, you could store 18 percent moisture soybeans (look at the column for 20 percent moisture corn) at a temperature of 50 for about 63 days before there would be enough mold growth to cause price discounts or feeding problems. Note that aeration is always recommended with all storage facilities.

Table 1: Allowable storage time (days) for shelled corn

Corn temperature

16% moisture content

18% moisture content

20% moisture content

22% moisture content

24% moisture content

26% moisture content

20 F

3,820 days

1,459 days

722 days

427 days

287 days

212 days

30 F

1,700 days

648 days

321 days

190 days

127 days

94 days

40 F

756 days

288 days

142 days

84 days

56 days

41 days

50 F

336 days

128 days

63 days

37 days

25 days

18 days

60 F

149 days

57 days

28 days

16 days

11 days

8 days

70 F

83 days

31 days

16 days

9 days

6 days

5 days

Drying guidelines

You’ll need to artificially dry soybeans if you harvest and store soybeans at a moisture content greater than 13 percent. Useful resources include:

Natural-air corn drying: Many of the principles for drying corn will be similar for drying soybeans.

Soybean drying and storage: Note this article was written for a northern location. In southern Minnesota, natural-air drying usually works for about two weeks longer, until about Dec. 1.